Riku is Not a Girl's Name
by shiksa
Summary: Sometimes the ones who are supposed to love you just don't. You need to make your own family. One hippie aunt, one scary dude, two dysfunctional kids and Riku. Perfect? And then there's that annoying freaking brunette down the road.  Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

UM IF ANYONE EVER GETS TO SEE THIS BESIDES EMMY, COUNT IT AS A FUCKING MIRACLE. Seriously, it's been DAYS I've been trying to post this, so I could very well be just ranting to myself right now for the sake of ranting as opposed to, I dunno, A READER. (original intro without bitching when I still had hope)-So uh ya know what? I don't have nearly enough SoRiku love goin' on with my account, so I decided to write this. I literally just got this idea tonight, but I loved it so much I couldn't pass it up. This one's probably more fun for me than for you guys xD But I do hope people enjoy it!

* * *

He felt fucking ridiculous. Sitting on a bench outside the bus station, a suitcase and a duffel bag at his feet, trying to stop crying. Jesus he felt fucking ridiculous. Where was he going anyways? He had nowhere to go. His plans had not been thoroughly planned, his thoughts weren't sufficiently thought, but it didn't matter. He didn't really have a choice. And then, like an omen from nowhere, a car pulled up next to him. The man in the driver's seat leaned over slowly as the window rolled down.

"Are you Riku?" He called out and he didn't know what to say. Riku had always been taught to never talk to strangers, but he had been taught a lot of other things he'd ignored tonight. And besides, he was eighteen. And he was fairly strong. He could handle himself. But this guy, this stranger, looked like someone he didn't really want to involve himself with. His long, black hair, tied back in a loose ponytail, a gray streak running through. A scar down the side of his face, a god damn eye patch. This was definitely a guy he didn't want to involve himself with.

"Uh..." He sat in a stupor, wondering where this guy had even come from, why he was looking for him, how he even knew he'd be here.

"Are you Riku or not?" He asked again, slightly agitated this time. And thunder clapped in the distance, the clouds roared down at him and the sky started weeping.

"Shit," Riku hissed as he looked up in disbelief. How much shittier could this night possibly get?

"You're gonna get wet kid," the man chuckled, a grin on his face, seemingly unthreatening, but maybe he was just a good actor. "Even if you're not who I'm looking for, maybe you should get in anyways."

"I'm not looking to turn tricks." Riku yelled over the sound of the rain, already pounding down monstrously on him, the pavement, the car, drowning out the sound of the world.

"I'm not looking to pay for sex!" The man yelled back, that grin still on his face. "Come on, get in!"

"Look, I'm not getting in your-"

"Dude, I'm not going to rape, torture or murder you. Just get in the god damn car." He said firmly, still smiling. Riku heard the sound of the trunk pop open, but he still sat on the bench, watching the man watch him back. The driver rolled his eyes and laid his hand flat on the horn, two quick honks blaring out into the darkness. Riku jumped up, grabbed his bags and tossed them in the trunk, finally swinging himself into the passenger's seat. He wasn't sure if he could trust this guy or not, but right now, he couldn't really care less. They sat motionless in the empty parking lot of the bus station. "Were you gonna wait all night for a bus? Because there won't be another one until tomorrow around ten." He didn't know that, he had to admit.

"Yeah, well, I didn't really have a plan." Riku grumbled as he sank into the seat, crossing his arms over his chest, staring out the window.

"Look like you've been crying," the man said, turning the heat up. The kid had only been in the rain for little more than a minute, but he had gotten pretty adequately soaked. "Something bad happen?"

"Is something bad about to happen?" He asked back, still looking out the window, watching the droplets tap on the window, roll down, escape.

"Already said I'm not gonna hurt you dude," he said, chuckling again. "You're Riku, aren't you?" It wasn't really a question, Riku's night was filled with unquestion-like questions, questions everyone already seemed to know the answer to and it was getting on his nerves. He just nodded, keeping his eyes on the window. "I'm Xigbar, you can call me Xig." And he stuck out his big hand, forcing the younger man's attention on him. He looked from the hand to the man and just stared blankly, unsure of how to proceed.

"Why were you looking for me?"

"I was told to find you." He said as he dug his hand in his coat pocket, pulling out a pack of cigarettes. "I was told to find you so I did." He repeated, a cigarette hanging from the side of his mouth, offering one to the kid in his passenger seat. Riku just shook his head. "You weren't as hard to find as I thought you would be, with that blindingly white hair and shit." He shrugged as he lit up, grinning again at the young man.

"How did you know I'd be here?"

"You're like, what? You're eighteen right? I figured an eighteen year old isn't gonna have many places to go when they get kicked out, I figured if I was eighteen and I got kicked out, I'd be angry and wanna just leave and in this town, the only place to leave from is pretty much here. The bus station. And you've probably never left before. You seem like a smart kid, didn't wanna get in the car right away. But you also seem like an adventurous kid, because eventually, you did get in the car. Which leads me to believe that if you had ever left, you would've never come back here. So bus station it was."

"What, are you a fucking detective or something?"

"No, I just used to be an angry teenager." Xig smirked as he took a drag and put the car in drive.

"Where are you gonna take me?"

"I'm taking you home."

"No, I can't. I can't go home, I-"

"New home." He said simply, interrupting Riku's impending rant. The young man stared at him, slightly confused, feeling a weird emptiness in the pit of his stomach.

"Who told you to find me?" He asked after a momentary pause, quietly, softly, suspicious.

"Your aunt," Xigbar said, speeding up as he made his way towards the highway. Riku was farther out of town than he had ever been, the emptiness grew. He wasn't sure if he was more nervous or more relieved.

"My aunt?" He said, not really paying attention, turning around in his seat and watching the town disappear behind them.

"Riku, do you believe in fate?"

"What?"

"Because your aunt is sure fucking fond of it." He said as he smirked, shaking his head gently at the road before him. "I'm not saying this whole thing wasn't a happy coincidence, but she's hard headed and she thinks it was fate, absolute destiny that I was in town tonight."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sure she'll want to tell you all about it once we get there. Why don't you get some sleep? It's sort of a long drive." Riku narrowed his eyes at the driver, but it was futile to argue about it, about anything. He was too exhausted, he was too fucking drained to worry about anything right now. If this stranger wanted to drive him to his aunt's house, whatever. Let him. If he wanted to go crazy and drive them off a fucking cliff, let him. Riku was finding it harder and harder to care honestly. He leaned back further in his seat, snuggling down, squeezing his arms against his chest, letting his head fall to the side. He watched the world zoom past his window, he'd never seen any of it before, but so far, it looked exactly the same as the world he just left.

~0~

_"Get out of my house."_

_"What?"_

_"Get out of my house." She repeated firmly, one hand pointing at the door, one hand laid on her chest._

_"You're kidding me right? I'm your son and you're kicking me out."_

_"Leave!" She yelped helplessly._

_"I didn't do anything wrong!"_

_"I will not have a pervert living under my roof. And you need to go before Seph gets home."_

_"Seph? You mean my father? Or are we not calling him that anymore?"_

_"I'll give you an hour to get your things, but when I get back, I want you gone."_

_"How can you do this." It wasn't even a question, he didn't need to question it. He knew exactly what his mother was saying. His own mother was telling him, in so many words, that she didn't love him had known his mother wouldn't be happy, but he honestly hadn't expected this. Riku watched his mother walk towards the front door, pausing, her hand on the knob._

_"You're disgusting." She whispered, it was like poison leaving her lips and it stung. It wasn't even accusatory, more disappointment, as if he was only telling this to her to hurt her. To make her hate him. How could his own mother say that to him? "I don't know what I did wrong, but for screwing you up, I apologize. I've ruined you."_

_"No," Riku shook his head, smirking bitterly, ignoring the sting to his eyes. "You didn't ruin me. I turned out fucking beautifully regardless of you."_

His head snapped forward, cracking his neck, his eyes jolting open. "What the fuck!" He shrieked as his hands flew out, grasping whatever they could hold on to. He tried to look around, but he was blinded by the sunshine flooding into his vision.

"Mornin'," Xig said from the driver's seat, smirking as he watched the panicking teen. "We're here." He said and opened up the door, stretching his arms far above his head, reaching for that glorious sunshine. Riku panted as he sat in the car, trying to recollect his memories from the night before, and then they gathered. Like the dirty water in the tub, all rushing down the drain, they all funneled back into his mind. He felt empty again, and nauseous, but he thought maybe that was more from hunger than anything else. Riku squeezed the bridge of his nose, running his fingers up, pressing his palm against his forehead. His eyes opened again, desperately trying to focus, and when it did, his breath caught.

"Where are we?" He asked, his eyes wide now as he cautiously stepped out of the car, looking around, trying to take it all in at once.

"Welcome to Destiny Islands," Xigbar said as Riku walked further way from the car, closer to the ocean lapping up on the shore. In a moment without caution and without real thought, Riku slipped his sneakers off, leaving them sitting in the sand. He had never seen the ocean before, at least not in person, and it was insanely enticing. Something about it just called to him, needed him to touch it. It was odd, but somehow comfortable. Xigbar leaned against the hood of the car as he watched him press his feet into the wet stand, stumbling slightly when it sank beneath him.

"This is where I live now?" Riku asked, watching the horizon. It was gorgeous.

"Yep," Xig answered, grinning, letting himself slide to the trunk, grabbing the bags. "Hungry? Your aunt made breakfast." Riku looked back, and finally, after the initial draw of the water, he noticed a house. Not so much an actual house, but more of a cottage. Creamy, yellow paint covered it, blending right in with the sunshine, a bright, blue door, just like the water. The house was the god damn beach personified, or houseified? A wide porch with wind chimes hung across the roof, four chairs spread out over the wooden board floor. Two rocking chairs, a wide-set wicker chair, an overstuffed recliner that looked like it didn't belong outdoors, cramped with sand and earth. No yard, just small dunes of sand, random sprouts of beach grass popping up all over.

"This can't be real." Riku said quietly as he followed the older man into the house, his bags slung over his shoulders. This was too perfect, too convenient. Things like this didn't happen in real life, did it? He must've been killed, this was some sort of afterlife. Or this was some sort of coma dream? Maybe he'd been stabbed or drugged his first night on the streets and now his mind was just trying to make things pleasant for him before he finally bit the dust.

"We're here!" Xig called once they were in the foyer. The inside of the house was, if possible, more colorful, noisier, than the outside. Paintings covered the walls, a giant, overstuffed couch sat in the middle of the living room, two large chairs on either side, all different patterns and colors. This woman was fond of big furniture apparently. A deep red, floral carpet spread out across hardwood floors, bookshelves lined up against one entire wall, completely filled. Vases of flowers sporadically set around anywhere Riku could see, some dry and withered, some looked like they'd just been cut. "I brought him, he's safe, I'm going to bed." Xigbar called out and set the bags down on the floor, turning to smile at Riku once more. "Have fun, I'll see you in about fifteen hours."

"Wait, you live here?"

"Yeah," Xig nodded as he turned to the stairs, cluttered and dangerous. This wasn't a house for children.

"Are you her boyfriend or husband or something?" He asked as he watched his back.

"HA!" He cackled as he climbed the stairs, disappearing into one of the doors. "Hardly!" He yelled down before closing the door gently. Riku heard the click of a lock, and he was alone. He walked forward, moving further into the house. The whole thing just spelled mess, but it was oddly comfortable, nothing like his own home. Well, his prior home. His feet padded against the plush carpet, and he realized he'd forgotten his shoes outside.

"Crap," he muttered and walked towards the door again, but he was cut off. He jumped back, but barely at all, and definitely not from threat. A petite woman blocked his path, shorter than him, but he was fairly tall. Her entire body was probably less in mass than her hair he noticed with slight amusement. Blonde on blonde piled on top of her head, dreaded and braided, twisted and decorated with beads, flowers, feathers; a dark, blue bandana pushing any of it out of her eyes, away from her face.

"You're here!" She exclaimed giddily, clasping her hands together and bouncing with what Riku could only guess was joy.

"Uh...hi," he said, only slghtly nervous. How could someone he'd never met before be so excited to see him? Her eyes welled up, her grin grew and then her arms extended, snaking around his neck and squeezing him. "Hi..." He repeated, completely at a loss for what to say.

"Oh I'm so excited you're here! Are you hungry? I bet you're freaking starving! Xiggy called me from the road and said you slept the whole time, so you gotta be starving?"

"...Xiggy?" He asked, his lips twitching, aching to grin, but he felt his face would break if it tried.

"Oops! Don't tell him I said that, I'm supposed to be the only one who calls him that." She smiled sheepishly, gripping his hand and dragging him into the kitchen. Just as colorful and busy as the rest of the house. Pots and pans hung above the stove, all different colors. Hunter green, bright red, navy blue, neon orange. Where did someone even get pans like that? Stacks of books and papers piled all over the counters, a typewriter sat on the end of the table. Empty takeout containers scattered around. "So uh you eat meat right?"

"Yes?"

"Good! Good! I mean, I'm a vegetarian, but I figured you're a young, strapping boy, so you probably eat meat. And I would've hated to have bought all this bacon and have you not eat it, but I suppose I could've just gotten Xig to eat it because he eats meat." She rambled, tapping her finger against her chin thoughtfully. In a very, very obscure way, this woman reminded him of his mother. She wasn't as old or as pristine or as stodgy or as conservative, but it was something about her. Maybe this really was his aunt. But she was definitely not like his mother, not even a little bit. This woman stood before him in a floor length, black skirt, tribal designs in white covering it, a purple tank top, her arms covered in bracelets made of twine, hemp, string, metal. And she had bare feet. And tattoos. On her feet. And on her arms. Everywhere there wasn't a bracelet covering you could see ink popping out.

"I'm sorry," Riku said as he held his hands up in defense, backing away. "But I don't even know who you are, I mean I know the guy-"

"Xigbar!"

"Xigbar," he corrected himself, nodding gently, "said you're my aunt, but I don't-"

"Did your mom not even tell you I existed?" She asked and looked genuinely upset. It was an odd look on her. Riku had just met her but he could tell that her face was not one that frequently frowned.

"No, it's not that. She told me she had a sister, a crazy sister." He said and looked her up and down, but she only giggled. It didn't seem strange for her. "But she never talked about you, I mean her sister. I'm sorry but I don't even know if you're telling me the truth."

"Why would I have reason to lie?" She asked, smiling, her head cocked to the side.

"Why would you have reason to send for me?"

"Because you're my nephew, and I love you." She shrugged, as if the answer was obvious, as if she could love someone she'd never met. "Can I show you something? Some proof or something? I mean, it might make you more comfortable." The woman walked behind the counter, bending down to look through one of her many stacks of books. "Ah!" She exclaimed and pulled one, trying to stop the others from toppling, but eventually giving up, letting them slide down into more of a hill than a pile. "This is you," she said as she flipped the first page open, and there he was. "And this, and this." She continued, flipping the pages, showing the pictures, and sure enough, it was him. It was him in kindergarten, it was him through his 'rebel' junior high days, it was him at his high school graduation just a month ago.

"Where did you get these?" He asked as he gently ran his fingers over them.

"Your mother and I have a mutual friend, sort of. And she would send them to me all the time since your mother wouldn't." She shrugged again and leaned against the counter. "Believe me now?"

"I guess," he said quietly, though he was still unsure. He knew his mom had a sister, he knew they didn't talk, he supposed he just couldn't believe that someone he didn't know, someone who didn't know him, could possibly care this much. "So what now?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you sent the guy-"

"Xigbar," she interrupted with a grin.

"Xigbar," he nodded again, "to get me, but why?"

"I sensed you needed me." And she had a genuine smile just plastered on her face, it was remarkable.

"And how did you 'sense' I needed you?"

"Know what? Questions later! Right now, you should eat." She grinned wider, walking over and patting the table. "I made blueberry pancakes and bacon. And I have orange juice and soy mil-you probably don't like soy milk. Orange juice then?" He nodded and sat down, looking at the pile of food as she fetched him a glass.

"Can I ask just one question?"

"Sure!"

"What's your name?" She chuckled, as if it was a joke.

"She never even told you my name. That's sort of sad."

"I guess it is." Riku said a picked up a piece of bacon, beginning to chomp on it.

"Well Riku, it's nice to meet you." She said with a smile as she set the glass down in front of him. "I'm Rikku, but you can call me Ri. Aunt Ri if you prefer."

* * *

There's this comic called Hanna Is Not A Boy's Name so I sort of got the title from that, but I've never actually read it. I am however pretty sure this is nothing like it. But yes, I do hope that people will like this cuz I'm pretty excited about it. I know, I have way too many stories going on, but it's ok. I think so anyways.. ^^


	2. Chapter 2

Know what fanfic? You fucking suck recently.

* * *

After a lot of urging and laughing on Ri's side, Riku finally just finished eating, ignoring all of his questions for now. Burying them deep down inside, letting them burn him up, he just ate. And when he leaned back, completely stuffed, he just watched the woman who was apparently his aunt. "You want coffee?" She asked, her owns hands cupped around a bowl-sized, black mug, filled to the brim with what she referred to as cafe au lait, half coffee, half milk, tons of sugar. He only shook his head, looking around the kitchen.

"Your house is..."

"Messy?" She asked with a grin.

"That wasn't going to be my first response, but yes."

"Messy is typically the first adjective people choose to describe my humble abode."

"It's nice though," he said, nodding in approval. "Lots of color."

"Well we do like color!" Ri laughed loudly, earning a slam on the ceiling from the sleeping man upstairs. "Sorry!" She shouted up at him, hanging off his bed, pounding his fist against the floor. "Artsy people tend to." She said, a little quieter this time. "Sorry about him, he gets grumpy when he loses out on sleep. He was supposed to stay the night in town then drive back today, which threw his schedule off anyways, so I don't know what he's complaining about." She prattled on, occasionally stopping to sip her coffee. "He typically sleeps during the day, works at night. He's pretty insomniatic."

"So what is he exactly?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just your roommate? Or something?" Riku asked embarrassedly, arching his eyebrow to suggest something a little less sitcom appropriate.

"Oh, Xiggy is just my roommate. He's my best friend, my roommate, a super fabulous artist...we've been friends since junior high." Ri nodded gently lifting her hands, tugging at her hair softly. "He was the only other person in that tiny ass town I ever met who wanted to leave as bad as I did! Your mom hated him, so did your dad."

"I can imagine." Riku said bitterly as he leaned down on the table. His aunt watched him, a gentle frown on her face.

"You wanna talk about it?" She asked, cocking her head to the side, but Riku only shook his head, staring at his hands, clenching and entwining angrily, nervously. "Hey! I have a great idea, why don't you go around town? Ya know, explore? What have you? It's a small town, but we've got the beaches and we're a twenty minute train ride from the city, and I mean we've got awesome coffee shops, independent bookstores and thrift shops and music joints. It's pretty much the perfect little town. At least I think so, Xig thinks so. Hopefully you'll like it!"

"How long am I gonna be here for?"

"As long as you want to stay." He was confused, so confused. This woman, some stranger that he just happened to be related to by blood, was just taking him in as if it was nothing. "You wanna see your room?" He shrugged as he stood to follow her, doubting the legitimacy of the whole situation, still trying to convince himself he was in some sort of comatose sequence. Ri tried to pick up both the bags, but she practically toppled over as she shuffled towards the stairs.

"Lemme get those." He said and grabbed them for her, easily lifting them up. It was his life after all, it was his heavy life that she would die trying to heave up the stairs.

"Such a gentlemen," she said and laughed melodically as she climbed the stairs ahead of him. "That's Xig's room," she pointed at the first door on the left, locked up tight. "That's my room," the finger waved over to the door right across the hall. "And this one's yours!" She yipped, laying her hand out to show him the open door. A queen size bed, a large bay window with a bench, more bookshelves, more paintings and a closet. "If you need a dresser, we can get one. We can move one of the bookshelves downstairs, but there's a small chest of drawers in the closet for, I dunno, underwear and crap I guess." Ri explained, rubbing the back of her neck, watching her nephew look around the room. It was bigger than his old one, more interesting, more colorful, brighter because of the window, more comfortable because of the cushy looking bed. "If there's anything you don't like, paintings or anything, ya know, get rid of it! Or rather ask me or Xig to move it somewhere else. You can do whatever you want in here, decorate however you want, just do whatever." She shrugged.

"I just...why? Why are you doing this?"

"Well, you need someplace to stay right?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And what's better than a beach cottage? Close to the city? Lots of really cool people around here?" He hated to ask, watching her smiling face, but he didn't want to feel like he was lying to her. He didn't want to feel as if he was deceiving her somehow.

"You know my parents kicked me out right?" Riku said, cautious, quiet, that's all he seemed to want to be now. The blonde sat down on the edge of the bed, the fluffed, white comforter trying to swallow her, and looked around the room, then back at him.

"I figured it was something like that." Ri nodded and leaned back on the palms of her hands.

"You don't even know why they kicked me out."

"Are you some sort of criminal?"

"What?"

"Have you been doing anything illegal?"

"I mean, I'm not an angel."

"Well, hardcore illegal. Have you killed someone?"

"What? No!"

"Ok, are you an arsonist?"

"No," Riku said, shaking his head, his lips twitching again, still cautious of his fragile facade.

"Any big, drug deals in the works right now? Like blow, go, snow?"

"I don't even know what any of those are." He said, watching her in confusion. What the hell were these drugs and why did they all rhyme? And she just laughed.

"I'm not worried about it then. And when you wanna talk about it, we can." She stood, resting her hands on her hips, her elbows pointed out. "I'd be happy to show you around, but unfortunately I have to work today. Like a lot. But I know the perfect person for the job." Ri clapped her hands and practically leapt out of the room. "Wake up wake up!" She yelled as she pounded on the fourth door, and finally, it cracked open. A short girl, messy hair framing her face, tired, blue eyes staring out at them.

"Is this him?" A hoarse voice asked, the eyes shifting quickly over to Riku, looking him over, up and down.

"This is him!" Ri gleefully sang out and the door closed. Rustling, shuffling behind the door, something falling. "She's a tad messy..." Ri said as she pressed her ear against the door, jumping back once it swung open. "Morning!" The same short girl with those bright blue eyes stood before them, her hip pushed out to the right, one hand laid on it, the other swung limply at her side. Her thighs were wrapped in a gold, lamé skirt, a large black tee shirt hung off one shoulder, showing her milky, white skin. Bright red fingernails tapped on the edge of the door, bright red toenails poked out from black, leather gladiator sandals. Dark, black hair mussed up, bed head all over the place, hot pink wayfarer sunglasses pushed up her forehead. Rings lined up her ears, a ring in her nose, rings on her hands. This girl was all metallic and 'who-gives-a-fuck' with her tried eyes, lined with black, eyelashes long and thick.

"Mornin'," she said and she smiled, the corner of her mouth turned up gently. "You must be Riku." She said and nodded at him. "I'm Xion, and I will be your gracious tour guide for the day." Riku only nodded and looked between the girl and his aunt. Was this her daughter? Besides short, lithe figures, they didn't seem to have much in common physically. "Your hair is shorter than I expected." Xion said as she let Ri wrap her arms around her, kiss the top of her head, press her cheek into her messy hair. What an odd, out of place thing to say.

"My sister likes men with short hair." Ri grinned as she watched the young man watch them. It was something he did a lot, and Ri simply put it up to being raised to be quiet, obedient, observant. "But if you like short hair, there's nothing wrong with that!" She added quickly and Riku aimed his eyes upward, as if he could see his hair. About an inch long, slightly spiked up from natural volume. He'd always had short hair, his mother made sure of it. He looked back at the two women quizzically.

"I guess I just assumed someone related to Ri would have longer hair, but maybe that was silly. I mean, I have short hair." She said and started tugging at her own locks, cropped close to her head, looking like a cut for a boy, maybe just a tad longer. "Coffee?" Her head twisted as much as it could with Ri's face still pressed against it.

"Downstairs! Be quiet though near the basement, miss Fabu didn't get in 'til about six this morning."

"Jesus, she's been out late as hell recently."

"Well, early as hell?"

"Whatever works." Xion said as the older woman's arms slid off of her. "I'm gonna get some coffee and then we can hit the town and ya know, meet some people or something." She continued talking as she dredged down the stairs, dragging her feet along the tiny staircase, narrowly avoiding more piles of books, high heels, piles of clothes.

"How many people live here exactly?" Riku asked as he stared at his aunt, her hands placed back on her hips.

"Four! Well, five now! I mean, if you're staying. I don't wanna pressure you into doing anything you don't want to." Riku was silent momentarily, looking behind him back at the empty room he could now call his own. He looked around the smallish house, all the colors and busy-ness. And then he looked his aunt up and down, looking like some sort of hopped up hippie who rolled around in a tub of thrifty picks and paint. She looked hopeful, honest-to-god hopeful that he would just stay there with them. Riku still couldn't understand it, but he figured right now, this was probably his best bet.

"I'll stay," he nodded and looked down the stairs.

"Good!"

"Just until I can afford someplace on my own, I mean I don't wanna put you out or anything."

"Sweetie, trust me, you're not gonna be putting us out." She laughed lightly, as if something was oddly funny. He didn't get it, the way she laughed at silly little things. She really was nothing like his mother, he couldn't remember ever hearing her laugh. "You stay as long as you want." His bare feet padded down against the stairs, following hers.

~0~

"So how was the drive?" Xion asked as they walked down the empty road, the waves crashing only yards away from them.

"Uh I slept the whole time, but I'm alive, so I assume it went well." She smirked, still staring straight ahead.

"I'd hate to even say it, but you're lucky. Xig can be a crazy driver."

"I'm sorry, but I have to ask. Are you someone's daughter?"

"That seems like a silly question, everybody's somebody's daughter. Or son, I mean if you have a dick and all."

"I mean, Ri's or Xigbar's? Are you one of their daughters?" She chuckled, as if it was a joke, just the same as Ri. What was it with these people and laughing at simple questions? Deductions? Everything seemed wrong, everything he thought seemed wrong for some reason.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. But no, they uh, neither of them are one of my parents. But they're like my parents, better than my parents." Xion said, her brows furrowed behind her sunglasses.

"So you just live with them?" She looked over at him, the corner of her mouth turned up again.

"They saved me," she shrugged and looked back at the road, focusing on what was in front of them. "I was homeless, sorta I guess. I lived in a shelter up in the city and then I met Xigbar outside his gallery one night and he asked if I was hungry and if I wanted to get something to eat. And of course, I assumed he wanted sex from me, he just looks like the type of guy who's gonna pay for some teen hooker, ya know? I mean, I love him to death, but he's sort of a terrifying looking dude." And Riku laughed despite himself, earning a surprised smile from the girl beside him.

"It's just...I'm sorry, I thought the exact same thing." Who would've thought the shared idea of Xigbar being a sexual predator would be the thing to finally make him crack, make it past that lip-twitching into actual laughter? Look, no broken face Ma, I'm laughing for real.

"Right? Is he not, like, scary?"

"He pulled up next to me in his car and told me I should get in because it was raining." He noticed the prominent aching in his cheeks as he let his laugh shrink into a small smile.

"See, he needs to learn he can't just do that ya know? I mean, he's sweet, but it's the eye patch I think. And the scar. He looks...menacing." And she smiled at him, no half-smile, no turned up corner, a full blown smile. "But anyways, he took me back to the cottage, and I met Ri, and I knew I wasn't going to be raped or slaughtered or anything. And I completely stuffed myself and told them my story and cried...and uh, they let me stay the night, and the next day, they asked if I wanted to stay. So I did."

"Do they do this sort of thing a lot?"

"Well, for me, and after me, miss Fabu."

"Miss Fabu?"

"I can't describe her, you'll have to meet her." She only shrugged again, halting, jumping up when a scream interrupted them. "Oh jesus! What is your problem? You scared the shit out of me!"

"I'M SORRY!" A man screeched as he ran towards them, waving his hands in the air as he tried to get their attention. "I WAS AFRAID YOU WOULDN'T STOP!" He yelled again as he finally got there, panting and smiling as he stopped. "Hey!" He said, his chest falling down, rising up, dramatically with each breath. "Who's this?" He asked, bopping his head towards Riku, a grin plastered on his lips.

"This is Ri's nephew, Riku."

"Oooh, so you're the little man with the silver hair! Well, not little I guess right? Sorry, I've only seen a few pictures from when you were like, I don't even know, in kindergarten I think? Maybe up to seven." Xion rolled her eyes as she slid her sunglasses up again, squinting against the sunshine.

"Perhaps you could manage to introduce yourself."

"Oh geeze, I'm sorry! I'm Demyx!" The man said, sticking his hand out, but Riku only looked at it. While most people would get uncomfortable, withdraw their hand, try and talk to Xion again, Demyx was none of these. His grin widened and he took the initiative, gripping Riku's hand and shaking it. "May as well get to know you now, you'll be seeing tons of me." He added, still grinning.

"Why's that?" Riku asked, his brow arched.

"I'm Xig's boyfriend!"

"Oh," he said, his eyes widened. "I didn't know Xigbar was gay." Xion and Demyx simply waited for some other sort of response. As if it was shocking he didn't know, shocking that he couldn't have figured it out by now. "What? It's not like he wears a sign or something." He said and shrugged, digging his hands into his pockets out of sheer embarrassment. Was it really supposed to be that obvious? He apparently wasn't very good at this.

"No, it's not that, it's just...I mean, you were in the car with him all night. And sleeping. And you don't have a problem with that?"

"Why would I?" He had to ask.

"Well, we've heard stories." Demyx said, exchanging a slightly worried glance with the younger girl at his side. "About your mom, your parents rather. They seem to be sort of...uh.."

"They're kind of homophobes." Xion said, ripping the band aid right off.

"Xi! I was trying to be _sensitive_ about it!"

"I'm not a homophobe." Riku rolled his eyes, grunting in frustration at the idea of being anything like his parents, especially at this point.

"Sorry for assuming," the blond said, tugging on the ends of his hair, grinning unabashedly, his eyes closed, teetering on his heels. "Usually when someone gets raised like that though, it just tends to stick out with them."

"No, it's fine. I'm the farthest thing from a homophobe." Riku added, beginning to walk forward, leaving the other two to quickly glance between each other and the slowly escaping new comer.

"What's that mean?" Xi asked, engulfed in her own curiosity. She had been told, asked really, to not push him, to not prod him, but she couldn't help herself. He had just left a cliffhanger dangling in the air and she absolutely appalled cliffhangers. Demyx nudged her side, but she only shooed him away. "What is the farthest thing from a homophobe?" She continued probing him, without shame.

"I got kicked out because I'm gay." Riku said without really thinking about it, not bothering to stop in his tracks when he truly realized what he's said. That was too dramatic for his tastes, he was however thankful they couldn't see his flushed face. It was odd how easily it had come out of his mouth, just escaped his lips, no struggle. He had internally fought with himself on this for years, ignoring it, bringing it up again only to shove it back down. And the words, he'd only said it once before and look how that turned out. He wasn't worried this time around though.

"You're gay?" Demyx asked excitedly, trotting up to him, laying both hands down on his shoulders. "That's exciting! There are so many cute gay boys out here your age! You are gonna _love_ this town."

"Hey, you whore, don't crowd him." Xion called after them, keeping her distance, a gentle smile persisting anyways.

"Oh shut it you dirty carpet muncher."

"HEY!"

"She hates it when I call her that." The blond whispered into the boy's ear next to him. "Oh sweetie, you have no hair." He noticed, his blue eyes set wide as he plucked at the short tuffs of hair atop his head, silver threads poking up.

"Man that is a big deal for you people out here isn't it?"

"Of course I hate it! It's gross and offensive!" Xion argued from behind them.

"Whatever, your girlfriend thinks it's funny."

"She only thinks it's funny because it annoys the shit out of me."

"You're gay?" Riku asked as he turned back around, gaping at the girl in the short skirt, painted nails, pink sunglasses, imitating Demyx's question perfectly.

"No," she rolled her eyes, though it was barely visible through her lenses. "Well, I mean, kinda. I'm bi, so half gay I guess."

"That's her fancy explainin' for she's dating someone with a matching hoo-ha." Demyx grinned as they halted in the middle of the street, seeing the main road before them, passing out of the neighborhoods of houses and beach and into the location of coffee shops and more beach. "I'm gonna go back, I was busy, but I saw you guys and got distracted."

"Whatever, I'm sure you'll be by later."

"More than likely." The blond sang out as he started running away from them, waving as he galloped backwards.

"How old is he?" Riku questioned as he disappeared behind a dune, quickly keeping pace with Xion.

"Demyx is twenty seven."

"And how old is Xigbar?"

"Year older than your aunt." Xion teased with a grin.

"How old is Ri?"

"Man, you are behind. Do you know how old _you_ are?"

"You make things difficult, don't you?"

"You'll learn to love it." She smiled wider at her new companion. "Ok, Ri just turned thirty six last month. Xig is gonna be thirty eight in November. So yeah, him and Demyx have about an entire decade between them, but hey, can't help who you fall in love with right?" He wasn't sure what to say so he just didn't say anything, instead choosing to focus on his newest surroundings. It was still so much to take in, he'd never seen anything more interesting than a cornfield before. Even the stores in his town were dull, but in this town, everything, just like his new home, was popped with color. Riku couldn't be sure if it was his memories being tainted by anger, or if his hometown really was as dull as he recalled now, only a day later.

* * *

So yay for new characters! Right? Also, I'm super excited to FINALLY be writing XigDem even if they are just a side couple. Let me know if you like it thus far, hate it, whatever. Anyways, like I think I said, this story's just for fun for me, it's not one of my super-drama-llama ones, so I hope you guys can dig it.


	3. Chapter 3

Whoa guys. New chapter. So tired.

* * *

"So, that's the Cool Bean, it's a coffee shop, and no, the owner is not very clever. A couple restaurants, lots of clothing stores, a few small galleries, record stores..." Xion explained, her finger slowly moving to the right, as if she was directing him to spin. "I mean, I don't really know what to show you exactly. Do you need anything? Like...records? Or an old ass copy of 'The Idiot'? How 'bout some coffee?" She asked, sliding her glasses up again, watching Riku watch the small-ish town. "Well, I'm gonna get some coffee." She said and made her way into the Cool Bean, silently prompting Riku to follow. "Is this the same size as your last homestead?"

"No, this is bigger."

"Interesting," Xi nodded as she pushed the door open, the sound of a bell clanging against the wooden frame. "This place seems quaint to me, I guess maybe because I spent those months in the city. I find this preferable though." She leaned against the counter, leaving Riku in the doorway to watch. "Helloooo!" She called into the back. "Bad customer service! I'm suing somebody!" Flames poked around the frame of the door leading into the back, at least Riku on first glance had assumed they were flames. The bright red, the wildness, that's what it seemed to be. "Hello you sexy man you." Xion gushed, dropping her elbow onto the counter, her face into her hand, a goofy grin painted across her lips.

"Hey gorgeous," the man replied with a wink, wiping his hands on his apron as he approached the counter, slapping his hands down on it once he arrived. He smiled widely at her, but soon, his attention was drawn to the boy at the front, with his short, silver hair, sleeveless black shirt, loose fitting jeans. "Friend of yours?" He asked, a thin, red eyebrow arched suspiciously.

"This, my dear, is-no wait, I want you to guess!" Xion clapped her hands and spun quickly to face Riku at the entrance.

"Oh goody, a game." The redhead mocked, tapping his fingers against the countertop. "New boyfriend?"

"Nope," Xion shook her head as she gripped onto his wrist, dragging him further in, sitting him atop a stool, putting him face to face with the man in the tight, dark jeans, the simplistic, white, v-neck tee shirt, the dingy used-to-be-white apron tied across his waist. "Want a clue?" The man wriggled an eyebrow, squinted his eyes, pursed his lips. Riku felt slightly uncomfortable being watched so intently, having to look away, his eyes pleading with Xion to get him out of here, but she only ignored it.

"Someone who desperately needs a new wardrobe?" He asked, earning a glare from the boy at the counter.

"Axel, rude." Xi rolled her eyes as she laid both hands down on her newest friend's shoulders, smiling from behind him at the barista. "You've seen piiiictures of him. This is someone who one of your favorite people loves very, very much." The man, apparently Axel, arched his brow once more.

"Let's see, silver hair. No smile. Definitely new to this town. You must be Ri's nephew." He said to the applause of Xion. He slapped his hands together, shaking his conjoined fists in victory. Apparently despite Riku not knowing any of these people, they were pretty familiar with him. "Then you are Riku. It is nice to meet you Riku, I am Axel. Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"Um, no thanks." Riku shook his head, feeling the anxiety lifted off of him as Axel turned his back to him, no longer scrutinizing him only an inch from his face.

"You don't have many vices do you?" Xion asked as she took the seat next to him, graciously accepting the cup of coffee Axel's thin hand slid down the counter towards her. "I heard Xig offered you a cigarette and you said no. And in a situation like that? I sure as hell would've taken the cigarette."

"Was me declining a cigarette newsworthy?"

"Ri wanted pretty much full disclosure on the phone conference."

"I've just never...needed any 'vices' I guess." He said, his brow arched at the girl sipping her coffee, her eyes lidded in elation, pure, unadulterated bliss with coffee.

"You should really get some." Axel noted as he poured steaming milk into a mug, watching it swirl in the glass, liquid clouds of white suddenly stained and murky. "I mean, everyone needs vices. Have you ever done _anything_ bad?"

"You consider coffee _bad_?" He asked the barista with narrowed eyes.

"If you give it to the right person," he replied, a sly smirk on his face as he slid the cup across the counter, nudging it against the young man's knuckles. "Try it, you'll like it."

"I've had coffee." Riku insisted, rolling his eyes, though he picked the cup up anyways, taking a gentle sip. It was...good. It wasn't like coffee he'd had at home, that was completely disgusting, bitter, just like rotten water. But this was much different. Just like everything else in this town, even coffee was different here.

"See? Look at him! I can already tell, I'm gonna be seeing a lot of you in here now. You like it right?"

"It's...alright." Riku said begrudgingly, sipping again, ignoring Xion's giggle, Axel's smirk.

"That is a latte, lots of steamed milk, not so much coffee. I used mocha and chocolate. That's how you start getting people hooked on it, give them a mocha latte, then slowly but surely, they'll develop a love and need for caffeine and soon, they'll be in here ordering straight up espresso."

"Oh Axel, you conniving business man you. Is that how you got me?"

"Absolutely not, you already had a freaky addiction to caffeine before you met me."

"Oh yeah," Xi smirked as she stared into her coffee cup. "So what can you tell Riku here about our little town? I wanna give him the full Destiny Islands experience."

"Well, I'm glad the Cool Bean made the cut for the ultimate Destiny Islands experience." Axel laid his hands down on the cool, granite counter, leaning forward, staring out the window. "Peach Pit?" He asked, shrugging when Xion sighed gently. "I don't mean now," he added, rolling his eyes. "But later tonight, it's what? Saturday?"

"You don't even know what day it is?"

"Why bother? I'm here every day." Axel said, his smile wide, his shoulders rising and falling with a heavy breath.

"That seems depressing." Riku noted, burying his chin in the crook of his arm.

"It isn't! This is _my_ coffee shop, I spend every day here because I love it." The redhead behind the counter laid his hands on his lower back, looking around at what apparently was his pride and joy, the cornily named Cool Bean coffee shop. "It's my baby." He shrugged once more, smiling at his two customers. "Anyways, take him to the Waterloo Exchange. Get him some new clothes, please." He said, waving his hands, shooing them as he picked up their cups.

"Coming to the dinner tomorrow?"

"As always," Axel replied with a grin and a nod as they walked back out onto the street.

"The dinner?"

"Yeah, every sunday, there's a big dinner. Ri and Xig cook and invite a bunch of people, they'll make tomorrow's super intense I'm sure and insist everyone comes to meet you."

"I don't want anyone to make a fuss or anything."

"Chill, they'd do it anyways, but now they have an awesome reason to. Someone new." Xion shrugged once more, still smiling. She looked so sincere when she did that, it was unnerving. The way she smiled, the way Ri laughed, Xig's smirk, they were all so legitimate it was uncanny. His whole life had been so filled with uptight, pursed smiles, frowns of disappointment, discontent. He'd never seen people so happy before. It was oddly comforting, warming. "So are all your clothes like this?"

"I actually don't have a lot of clothes..." He realized with some discomfort, suddenly very uncomfortable in this particular outfit. "I didn't exactly have a lot of time to get my shit together, I grabbed what I could."

"And what exactly could you grab?"

"Another pair of jeans, boxers, another crappy pair of sneakers, playstation and books, lots of books." He scratched at the back of his neck, trying not to let Xion's pout get to him. "I tried to grab only stuff I bought for myself, I didn't really want anything my parents had ever gotten for me."

"Well, come on then, you need clothes."

"I...I don't have money Xi," he uttered, feeling his face turn red, but she only shrugged, chuckling gently.

"I didn't think you did, but I do. So come on. You can pay me back later or something."

~0~

"Go try these on." Xion said, shoving an armful of clothes at him. Riku looked down at the monstrous heap in his arms with wide eyes. Wasn't this too much? His eyes met hers and it was like she could read his mind. "Chillax, this is a thrift store, everything's super cheap." Directing him into a dressing room, she took a seat outside.

"How do you know any of this will look good on me?"

"Your prior outfit leads me to believe you don't care what looks good on you." She quipped with a grin, already able to picture him rolling his eyes. "In my personal opinion, there's a pretty tight regiment for dude clothes. While some dudes can get away with wearing more interesting things, some dudes cannot. But there's a common routine that essentially every guy will look good in. Fitted, straight-leg jeans, non-stupid tee shirt, non-ugly shoes!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands again. Riku was quick to catch on that this was one of her habits. "So what was with the staring earlier?" She asked, leaning her head against the wall, crossing one leg over the other.

"What do you mean?"

"You sorta gawked when you found out I was dating a girl."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize honestly." He mumbled, trying to ignore his face brightening yet again. "You just don't strike me as someone who would date a girl."

"Why?" She asked, honestly surprised it seemed.

"I mean, the gold skirt, the nail polish?"

"Oooh, so because I look like a girl, I can't date girls?"

"I didn't mean it like-"

"I'm screwing with you, calm down. I get it. You come from a small town right? You've just sort of got that bred in you. It's crazy, but girls who like girls? They typically look like other girls! Insanity right?" She giggled as her head turned to watch the door.

"I didn't mean to be rude or anything."

"I know, try not to worry about it so much." Xion leaned her elbows down on her knees, resting her chin in her palms. "Listen, I can tell that you're sort of on a self-discovering journey right now, and that you're not usually so...tip-toey, so apologetic, but for now, it's ok. Just think about it this way, when you look at yourself, do you just see some gay dude?" Riku watched himself in the mirror, his shirt in a rumpled pile in the corner, new, slightly-tighter jeans. He'd never really thought about it before, he hadn't really had time to look at himself and think about it. He was gay after all, but was that it? Was that all he was now? "You don't, you see yourself. You should start thinking of it as less of a major factor, ya know, less of who you are. I mean, it is part of who you are, but it's not all of it, right?" She shrugged gently, not bothering to wait for an answer, she already knew the answer. "Right."

"Yeah, right." He agreed as he slipped the grey tee shirt over his head, a gentle v-neck narrowed down. He didn't look bad, he had to give her that. Riku had spent so much of his life in his school uniform and whatever his mother bought him, he didn't know exactly how to feel about new clothes. "Xi? I don't know about this."

"Just come out of the damn fitting room," she insisted. Riku did as he was told, his bred-in obedience shining through. Her ass in a chair, her head leaned against the wall, Xion was completely taken aback. "You look so good!" She gushed, clapping her hands together excitedly. "See now, isn't this better?" He looked down at himself, and then back into the dressing room, watching himself in the mirror. He did look better, it was obvious. It was shocking how big of a change clothes can make. He no longer looked disheveled and lost, he didn't look like some kid anymore. He looked like a man, he felt like a man. But it was hard to feel like a man when his mind wandered to sex, to his previous ideal of a man, a man who could love a woman. Riku looked forward, not wanting to watch himself any longer, feeling slightly dizzy. He simply nodded. Xi bit down on her lip, trying to fight back her urge to pout at him, wrap her arms around him, console this sad looking boy; she barely knew him, now was not the time for physical consolation.

"You're sure you can pay for all this right now?" He asked, looking down at the pile of clothes in his arms. Three pairs of jeans, ten shirts, a pair of shoes.

"All this?" She giggled as she led the way to the register. "All this is only gonna be a little over twenty bucks." Xi looked back and smiled at Riku, making him feel that weird warmth, but then her eyes wandered, right past his face. They widened and she smiled and she clapped her hands excitedly as she rushed in the opposite direction. "Look at this." She said in awe as she raised her hands up, gently rubbing her thumbs along the seams, against the worn leather. "Tell me this isn't perfect."

"Xi, I don't-"

"No, don't say anything. Because it is perfect." Her eyes were gleaming as she pulled it down from the wall. "You need this. You would look _so_ incredible in this." Xion clutched it against her chest, squeezing the leather in ecstasy. "Put the clothes down, put this on." Riku narrowed his eyes, but did as he was told anyways, setting the pile on the floor between his feet, safely guarding his new wardrobe. He took it from her, shuffling in his place to see himself in the mirror. Riku looked down at the worn leather, felt it in his palms, had to admit he loved the feel of it. And he straightened it out, slipped one arm in, swung it around and slipped the other arm in. This old leather jacket, used to be black, now a tired grey, this had character. It had charisma, it had stories to tell, it still had miles to go. Now Riku felt like a man. He had never taken it into consideration before, being a man like this, one of those men you saw and just assumed they were bad-ass, rebellious, but somehow still admirable. But seeing this, seeing himself, this was the type of man he wanted to be. "Damn you look incredible."

~0~

"RI! COME LOOK AT YOUR NEPHEW!" Xion screamed as she swung on the banister, absolutely giddy about her successful project. The blonde came down the stairs, her nose buried in a book, black, cat eye glasses sliding down her nose. Riku stood at the bottom of the staircase, his hands buried in his new jeans pockets, his shirt casually clinging to his physique, the jacket simply making him grin. Ri finally looked up, her eyes wide, widened by the glasses. Today was apparently an eye-popping day for Riku.

"You're smiling," she said quietly as her lips turned up in a grin of her own. Riku's smile only grew when she spoke.

"You're missing how much I have sexified him. Look at this jacket. This jacket has turned him into a bionafied bone-able."

"Right, I apologize. You look very good, you look like...yourself." Ri nodded, reading his mind. It was an astonishing ability everyone seemed to possess around here. "So did you have fun? Going around?" She asked as she led the two youths into the kitchen, taking her seat with her coffee, her typewriter. Riku just nodded, shifting his weight from one side to the other.

"If you don't mind, I think I might go for a walk though, just by myself," he said with a glance at Xion who only held her hands and shrugged.

"Have fun!" Ri exclaimed and smiled.

"Thanks for showing me around Xi, and uh, thanks for the clothes."

"No problem bud," she smirked as she took a seat at the table, throwing her arm over the back of her chair.

Riku walked through the house, out the door, across the porch, stepping down one step only to kick off his shoes and leave them there. He dug his feet into the sand that greeted him at the bottom of the steps, wriggling his toes as he felt the earth cave beneath them then fill back up. The ground was constantly changing, being destroyed and rebuilding only a moment after. He started walking, keeping his eyes on the ocean beside him, watching it lap up, try and catch him, as if it wanted him. He had never felt so wanted in his entire life as he did in this town, with these people, these people he'd known a god damn day. How did people he'd just met seemingly love him so much when his parents couldn't make him feel this way after eighteen years? What was wrong with them? What was wrong with his parents? What was wrong with him? There were no answers, his life was filled with answer-less questions. And so he kept walking, trying to ignore the emptiness and the fulfillment raging inside of him, battling it out, making a decision on what his outlook was going to be, what his _life_ was going to be. This was the day. This was the day he had always dreamed about, longed for, waited for, and he knew it. The day everything was going to change and he could be whoever he wanted to be. He'd always wanted the day, but never expected it to ever actually arrive. And now that it was here, it was harder to decide what he would be than he had originally assumed. Riku could be dark and bitter the rest of his life, constantly wondering why his parents wouldn't love him, why he'd been born this way. Or, Riku could just accept that he had a lot of potential to be happy here, with these odd people, and he could stop worrying about his former life, and make the best of what he had now. The wind blew against the orange sky, the setting sun no longer warming him; he could taste the salt on his lips, feel the moisture surrounding him as he pulled his jacket tighter. He couldn't help but smile as he did so.

"HEY! Watch out!" A voice shouted suddenly, completely pulling him from his thoughts, the shock alone making him jump back. A thud and a loud sigh. Riku looked down at the hammer that suddenly landed in front of him. "What the hell are you doing?" The voice echoed, bringing Riku's attention up until he realized he was walking through what appeared to be a small construction site. "Are you even paying attention?"

"Uh..." He hummed as he looked up and around, trying to spot who was talking.

"Are you _trying _to get killed?"

"No, I'm sorry, I just-"

"You should pay more attention to what you're doing." And suddenly there was the voice personified, someone hanging upside down, their arms folded across their chest, their hair insanely voluminous from hanging at such an angle.

"Excuse me?" Riku asked incredulously, snarling unthreateningly. "You're hung up by your knees at a construction site. _You_ should pay more attention to what you're doing."

"I'm a professional," they said, rolling their eyes as they stretched up, unlatching their knees and dropping down before Riku. It was a boy, a man? Someone with a dick, he could tell that at least. Shorter than him, but somehow seemed bigger, his arms still across his chest, his hair still big, spiked, brown.

"Professional what? Circus performer?" Riku quipped.

"You're the one who almost had a hammer dropped on his head!"

"You're apparently the one who _dropped_ it!"

"If you had been paying attention to where you were going-"

"Maybe if you weren't hanging upside down like a fucking monkey, you wouldn't have dropped it." The two men glared at each other. Riku did his best not to notice the other man's eyes, they were entrancing, but he was too furious right now.

"Get off my site." He said firmly, standing strong, not letting his smaller stature get the best of him. Riku only rolled his eyes and turned around, beginning the short trek back to his home. His home. It felt nice to think that. Even if the beach was apparently littered with idiotic carpenters.

* * *

Well, I hope it was adequate and without tons of typos. I'm very tired. Sorry guys, but yaaaaay new chapter of something. *dead*


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